Karin's Rainbow Gathering 2011 news and ideas for creating a safe, fun and healing gathering in Washington State, July 1 - 7, 2011. As with all things related to Rainbow Gatherings, this is not an official source of information and represents my thoughts and opinions only. Other people will have different ideas. Email me if you wish.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Spring Council Starts June 12

Spring Council is a council/counsel/circle where people gather together, hear reports on sites from people who have been out scouting, and decide where to go. The decision can happen via a consensus by silence or a consensus by foot. The process can take a couple of hours or a couple of days. This year things seem to be moving slowly due to snow in the mountains. Often, but not always, Spring Council happens within 100 miles of where the gathering ends up being.

As with all things gathering related, the council is open to all peaceful people, no experience necessary.

If you attend Spring Council, please be self-sufficient. Bring food and water. Be prepared for cold wet weather. Bring extra blankets for those who show up in hoodies and flip flops.

Once Spring Council reaches a decision, people move onto the land to start seed camp. Some of the tasks are to develop water systems, set up the first kitchen a health care system, and dig the first latrines. Seed camp folks design the layout of the actual Gathering by developing trails, selecting a Main Circle site, marking parking areas and setting up Welcome Home. Coop and Banking Councils are set up to address the needs of Seed Camp. Please do not show up for seed camp unless you are willing to chip in on the work.

Please keep in mind that the ratio of law enforcement officers to gatherers is very high during seed camp and those who attend seed camp are much more likely to be stopped and search on the roads.

FORWARDED DIRECTIONS

***the washington state light line has this information as well @ 509*217*6573*** on the I-5 you are going to take exit 21 out of woodland Washington (about 30 miles north of Portland, Oregon)... go east onto hwy.503 hwy 503 becomes forest rd 90 continue on f.rd 90 tell you merge to the left onto ...forest rd 25 go on rd 25 for 5 1/2 miles to forest road 93 or 9300 go on forest rd 93/9300 for 4.1 miles turn right onto forest rd. 9310 got 1.3 miles to the council site.. please come self sufficient and prepared for cold wet weather..this site will be active for a few days while we council and wait on snow to melt..please bring food and water and lots of love!

DO NOT USE THE FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS. PEOPLE HAVE TRIED UNSUCCESSFULLY.If you are traveling from the East and/or northeast... you may consider.... See the town of Carson on hwy 14, north side of Columbia River... travel north on WINDY RIVER road over Old Man Pass... Windy River Road turns into Meadow Creek Road... then you come to the corner of Curley Creek Road, turn LEFT i.e. West then travel over the hill to FR90 or Lewis River Road... turn Left onto FR90... past EAGLE CLIFF... then you will come to where 503 and highway 25/131 that runs toward Mt. St. Helens... turn NORTH on 25... travel until you come to FR 9300.. turn right i.e. East... travel to FR 9310... then turn RIGHT -- travel a mile or so... to Spring Circle (old quarry)...

FROM THE EAST: The town of Carson can be reached either by traveling hwy 14 and/or traveling Interstate 84... south side of Columbia... toward Portland... then, at Biggs.. cross over toNorthside to highway 14.... continue to Carson....
Spring circle may happen... and be there for a few days.... plus, even if a site is known... with the weather the way is has been (biggest snow in 14 years)... so meadows will be WET, EASILY DAMAGED... Gathering Site may be ready ONLY by around 18th or 20th of June.... things gotta dry... Patience is Waiting! Grok!
When on-Site... PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD.... BUILD UP, NOT DIG DOWN... meaning build HEARTHS.... i.e. on ground spread rocks, and dirt, then build FIRE UP... i.e. so when clean-up remove ashes... dirt, rocks... water the roots of the grass underneath... Meadows are delicate....

4 comments:

Hi! I just wanted to say THANK YOU for this blog. It is great to have an up-to-date, organized, well written source of info for nationals each year. The lack of official organization is one of the things that makes Rainbow great, but sometimes that makes it hard to find reliable, current information! I appreciate the mix of personal insight and experience that you give along with the concrete resource info. Just wanted to give a shout out and say thanks! Lovin you family, see you soon!

Ditto. This is a great blog. You obviously have the clear-headed perspective we need to balance some of the.. ahem... family impulsiveness...

One point I wanted to make a few years ago when gas prices were also very high, is that if every single vehicle arriving at the gathering was encouraged to bring 50-100 lbs of food, it would take a load off of the supply runs need for expensive long trips in heavy vehicles. Even if it's bags of rice, beans, flour, gallons of cooking oil, or a few boxes of produce, if every single car came with this, it would save so much family gas money. (btw, for those in Portland area looking to supply the family with organic produce, New Seasons will sell a whole box of almost any item at just a little over cost. Stuff that is normally $3/lb can be had for about $1/lb if you buy the whole box)Anyhow, I thought that you might promote this idea, and if your blog readers pick up on it, word could spread nicely.Thanks again!

Northwest Tribes Lightline

(503) 727-2498

Washington Family Lightline

Forwarded info: For good updated info on info for the Washington state annual gathering of the tribes 2011..please contact the Washington state lightline @ (509)217*6573 between the hours of 10am and 10pm Pacific Time unless it is a emergency!!! or dial 911!!!PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE!! on a side note please do not flood the lightlines with calls for direction to the nationals this will be chosen by consensus at spring council 2011 on june 12th..(site to be announced for that location)..please do not flood the lightlines with directions to holding camps these direction are to be announced very soon as well..please be patient family...i know everyone has rainbow fever..but this is a long process to get our family to the rite place at the rite time...WE LOVE YOU and we will see you soon!

Mailing Address

If you prefer to communicate via snail mail or want to send a few dollars to help with scouting or other pre-gathering related costs:

Washington Rainbow Gathering 2011 P.O. Box 76 Oroville, WA 98844

Rainbow Links

Welcome Home

I try to cover a wide range of gathering specific topics on this blog to help those new to gathering create a safe and positive gathering experience. If I haven't covered a topic on this year's blog, odds are I or a guest blogger covered it in one of the prior year's gatherings. Some of the information will be outdated, but most of the basics will be the same. If there's a specific topic you're curious about, email me and I'll try to cover it or invite a guest blogger to do so.

About Me

Getting into the gathering without getting a mandatory court appearance ticket

GETTING INTO THE GATHERING WITHOUT GETTING A MANDATORY COURT APPEARANCE TICKET

Every year the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement (USFS) Incident Management Team (the cops) attempts to write as many tickets to family coming home as they possibly can to justify their presence. They give out tickets for broken tail lights, failure to use a turn signal in a deserted parking lot at 2 AM, lack of seat belts, controlled substances (even just a trace amount), beads hanging from your rear view mirrors, prescription medications if the label doesn't clearly have your name on it and you can't prove who you are, dogs off leash, a vehicle missing a front license plate even if you live in a state that does not issue a front license plate and a lot more violations of the letter of the law.

However, these tickets are not the type of citation you would probably receive for any of these issues in your hometown. These are mandatory court appearance tickets. There will be special court dates set up just for us, so we can go to the local courthouse, fire station or visitors center and go before a magistrate. In the past, charges have been reduced, fines were often minimal and the court has allowed people to make payment plans ranging from 90 days to pay $75 to 18 months to pay $25 depending on the hardship cases people have expressed.

If you do not show up for your mandatory court appearance on the date indicated on your ticket, a Federal Bench Warrant will be issued for your arrest. Then the USFS LEOs will come into the gathering looking for you. If they find you they will arrest you and put you in jail until the next court date. If this happens on a Friday afternoon, you will be in jail until Monday. If they do not find you at the gathering, the next time a law enforcement officer for any reason stops you, your ID will be run through the database and you will go directly to jail.

Of course, everyone is free to manage this situation as they wish but I strongly recommend you go to your court date. I have seen people charged with crimes that could potentially result in a six years sentence walk out with a $500 fine and three years’ probation. Keep in mind that every year the dynamic is different and these results may not always be available. There are lawyers at the gathering (I am not a legal expert) who attend the court dates and will assist as best they can although I recommend you catch up with them before your court date to gain a better understanding of your specific charges and strategies to get the charges dropped or reduced. If you do not know these people personally, go to INFO and let them know you received one of the magic tickets and you need legal assistance.